Review: Jackal is a taut, debut thriller that is steeped in real life terror. For more than three decades, Black girls in the predominately white town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania have been killed and/or gone missing. The missing women's lives are forgotten or have been slandered which provides a convenient excuse for the police to not open an investigation. 

  The book is told in two narratives. In one narrative we follow our protagonist, Liz Rocher who has reluctantly returned to her hometown because of her best friend's wedding. Liz is one of the handful of Black residents and has constantly been berated with racial microaggressions. We learn that she has been seeking therapy and has recently ended a toxic relationship. The author does a good job in making the reader care for Liz as we get to know her past in small details throughout the story. 

  The second narrative is the "jackal", which is interestingly told in the second person narration. These chapters intersect Liz's story and provide its chilling atmosphere. It is through the jackal's chapter that we learn more about the young Black women who have been essentially hunted and preyed upon. 

  The two narratives intersect when Liz's godchild and best friend's biracial daughter goes missing and her Liz's mother is being threatened to leave her residence. Unable to let the police botch another investigation, Liz sets out to take on the town's entrenched racism and confront the jackal after she begins to recognize the pattern of the disappearances that others have ignored. 

  I had a hard time putting this thriller down. The suspense and horror that these Black women go through is certainly spine tingling. The mystery surrounding the jackal had me hooked and I was surprised to find a supernatural element woven throughout the story. The supernatural element didn't quite work for me, but it didn't hinder my engagement of the story. The real beast here is racism which will slowly kill you. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers with social commentary or movies like Jordan Peele's "Get Out" or "Us" or the television show "Lovecraft Country". 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong violence at times gory, language, and a fade to black sex scene. Recommended for older teens and adults.

If you like this book try: For teens try Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, For adults try As The Wicked Watch by Tamaron Hall, Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Review: The Language of Seabirds is a quiet, tender story that looks into how relationships change-for better or for worse. Told primarily through the point of view of Jeremy, we follow him as he and dad spend their summer at a seaside cabin in Oregon. Jeremy's parents have recently divorced and this summer allows his dad to try to get a fresh new start. This summer also brings on new stress for Jeremy as he navigates his big feelings, a new discovery that he's gay, and try to figure out how to adapt to his dad's mood swings. There is a lot unsaid about Jeremy's father from his erratic disciplinary rules to Jeremy noticing a lot of empty beer cans around the cabin. I would have liked to have this aspect of the story developed a bit more. 

  Jeremy is a sweet, earnest tween who is trying his best to make the most of his summer. Luckily, he finds solace and companionship with another tween, Evan, who is a runner and shares his interest in learning about birds. I loved watching Jeremy and Evan's relationship grow and creating a new language in which they can communicate their emotions and they can exclusively understand. I appreciated that the author allowed these two tweens to explore their big emotions and find solace in one another without any fall-outs, backlash, or negative repercussions by others around them. I also learned a lot about the different types of seabirds. 

  

Review: Drawing inspiration by the Jeffrey Epstein trial, Courtney Summers has written another gritty, raw, and unflinching thriller. Though I didn't have a visceral reaction to this book like I did with Sadie, this book did infuriate me on many levels. 

  I found Georgia to be a very frustrating character. There were many times when I wanted to shake her until I realized she was purposely written as a painfully naive character. Once that clicked for me, I was able to let go all of my frustrations and become a watcher. Georgia has been led to believe that she is essentially worthless if she can't use her body and beauty to make something of herself. Her dream is to become an Aspera girl, a girl who is beautiful, put together, affluent, and works for the private and exclusive club. While her deceased mother who is knowledgeable of the on goings of the club has tried to pull Georgia away, Georgia only interprets this as a confirmation that she is not worthy. Desperate to seek love, validation, and affirmation, Georgia takes desperate steps to fight her way to Aspera no matter what. 

 Summers interrogates the themes of privilege, power, glamour, deceit, and complicity throughout the novel. As a reader you are very well aware of what is going on in Aspera and watch in horror as Georgia is quickly groomed and used by others. There are moments in the book that made me very uncomfortable, but like gapers delay while driving I couldn't look away. There are lighter moments in the book in which Georgia has a romantic relationship with Nora, Ashley's sister, but even this relationship is one of shared grief and a desperate attempt to figure things out when you can't trust the adults in your life. 

 It would be unfair to compare this book to Sadie though it is thematically similar. I think Summer's intent with I'm the Girl is to show the reader how easily young women are preyed upon and the toxicity of misogyny that we live in our daily lives. While it is a powerful, unrelenting, and bleak read, it is definitely not a book for every reader. I very much needed a lighter book after finishing this one.    

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Grooming, sexual assault, gas lighting, sex with minors, underage drinking and drug use, death of a parent from cancer, and pedophilia. Recommended for mature and older teens only.

If you like this book try: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis, Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson